2019
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Auxiliary Programs Partnership Survey
AUXS Insights
General Information
• 131 respondents representing 131 schools.
• 27 states represented.
• 30% boarding/day schools and 70% day schools.
• Approximately a third of respondents have 1 FTE or less in the Auxiliary Department, another third has 1.1-2 FTE, and the final third has more than 2 FTE.
• Approximately 62% of responding schools report $1 million or less in total gross annual auxiliary program revenue, while 38% report greater than $1 million in total gross annual auxiliary program revenue.
Most Common Partner Entities
• Sports (67%) and STEM (59%) lead the list as the program types most frequently partnered with by schools.
• The most common partnerships identified by organizations are with “Non-profits” (57%) and other “Organizations for underserved youth” (35%).
• 50% of respondents report that they have no training or orientation for their partners or vendors.
Contract and Fee Arrangements
Reasons to Seek Partnerships
• The top reason identified for seeking partnerships is “Expertise not available within the school” (70%).
• According to respondents, “Expanding summer program offerings” (81%) and “Enhancing after school enrichment opportunities” (68%) are the leading ways they utilize partners.
Facility Rentals
• The majority of schools report that their athletic facilities are in highest demand for rentals including the Gym/Field House, the Athletic Fields, and Swimming Pool.
• 43% of schools report that their Auditorium/ Theater is also in high demand.
• Other high demand facilities include Classrooms, Meeting Spaces, Dormitories, and Dining Facilities.
• The most common fee arrangements with partners include “Per participant fee” (57%) and a “Flat rate for workshop/class/program” (48%).
• 77% of respondents state that they utilize different fee arrangements with different partners.
• The majority of schools (61%) report that the fee is negotiated with each partner, while 33% report that the school sets the fee.
• 75% of schools report that they use a standard partnership/rental agreement with all of their partners.
• A significant majority of schools (94%) report that they use a “1 season/session/year” term in their agreements with partners/renters.
Partnership Value
•
Respondents report that their partnerships yield a wide range of value to the school with “Revenue”, “Enhanced program offerings”, and “Increased enrollment” leading the list.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH For more information, visit AUXS.org 2
IN ASSOCIATION WITH For more information, visit AUXS.org 3 What grades does your school serve? Pre-school Elementary School Middle/Intermediate School High School 61% 75% 81% 75% 30 % % Is your school boarding or day? 70% 30% Boarding (including some day students) Day What is your total school enrollment? 40% 1-500 36% 5011000 24% 1001 or more In which state is your school located? Alabama 1 California 12 Connecticut 3 District of Columbia 7 Florida 4 Georgia 3 Hawaii 2 Illinois 4 Maine 1 Maryland 10 Massachusetts 24 Michigan 1 Mississippi 1 Missouri 1 New Hampshire 1 New Jersey 8 New Mexico 1 New York 6 North Carolina 4 Ohio 2 Oregon 2 Pennsylvania 11 Rhode Island 4 Tennessee 2 Texas 8 Virginia 8 Washington 1 What is the current number of year round auxiliary programs staff in your department? 34% 33% 17% 15% 0-1 FTE 1.1-2 FTE 2.1-3 FTE 3.1+ FTE What is your gross annual auxiliary program revenue? 0-250,000 250,001-500,000 500,001-1,000,000 1,000,001-2,000,000 2,000,001-3,000,000 3,000,001 + 14% 24% 24% 24% 8% 6%
Chess, Debate,
Gardening,
Training, Fitness, High Adventure, Yoga, Dance, Bike Riding, Fencing, Design School, Science, Aquatics Sport, App Design, Surfing, Vet Camp, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Magic, Circus
IN ASSOCIATION WITH For more information, visit AUXS.org 4 What are your reasons for seeking partnerships/vendors? Expertise not available within the school (or available during needed time frame) Access to qualified staff Supplies not available within the school (e.g. computers, woodworking tools, etc.) Difficult to find your own staff during needed time frame Reputation of partner Ability of partner to bring in new clients/participants Ability of partner to provide ‘turn-key’ services Ability of partner to provide the administrative support (e.g. marketing, registration, billing)? 71% 42% 16% 50% 55% 49% 46% 12% In what ways have you used vendors/partners? Enhance after-school enrichment options Enhance after-camp enrichment options Augment staffing for after-school programs Expand summer camp offerings Augment staffing within self-run camp Offer weekend programming School-break programming Provide supplies for program Provide funding for programs Provide scholarships for participants Provide field trip or off campus activitie Provide activities out of the country Other Other: Resource for international students Use facilities efficiently and earn revenue Bring other groups to our campus. Revenue generation in absence of self run program Increase revenue Types of vendors/partners you have used in the past two years 13% Drivers Ed 23% 30% 24% 10% 60% 41% 33% 68% 29% 23% 27% Test Prep Handwork / Sewing Cooking Writing STEM/STEAM Lego Computers Sports Drama Music Visual Art 30% Other World Languages,
Drone,
Self Defense, Martial Arts, Babysitter
Arts
IN ASSOCIATION WITH For more information, visit AUXS.org 5 Does your school or auxiliary programs have partnerships with any of the following? Public Schools Non-Profits For profits Colleges/Universities Sports Leagues Corporations Organizations for underserved youth Service organizations Other 19% 57% 41% 21% 25% 11% 34% 15% 11% Sports teams, Privately owned Lacrosse program, Campus Store, Boy Scout troop Other: Do you have an orientation/training with your vendors/partners? 20% Yes, with school year vendors/partners 47% Yes, with summer vendors/partners 51% No Which of your school facilities are in greatest demand for rentals? 76% Gym/Field House 21% Swimming pool 9% Hockey rink 68% Athletic fields 36% Auditorium / Theater 2% Visual Arts rooms 5% Science facilities 17% Dining facilities 5% Chapel 20% Classrooms 20% Meeting spaces 5% Challenge Course 14% Other Dormitories; Indoor turf; Land; Tech Labs; Assembly Room How do you typically arrange your payment/fee structure with partners? Per Participant Fee Flat rate for workshop/ class/program % of the Fee Revenue Split Other 56% 48% 21% 32% 11% Facility Rental Fee, Daily usage, Partners only pay support programs, Hourly, Food Fee and Dorm Fee plus smaller fees for additional use of facilities, Splitting profit, Base rate plus per participant fee Other: Do you have the same fee arrangement for all partnerships with your school? 2% 24% 76% Yes No
IN ASSOCIATION WITH For more information, visit AUXS.org 6 Is the fee set by the school or the vendor/partner? 34% 5% 61% Set by school Set by vendor/ partner Negotiated Do you have set partnership/rental agreements created by your school for use with all partnerships and rentals? 25% No 75% Yes Do you allow your partners to use their own partnership/ rental agreements? 32% Yes 68% No What is your standard or most common contract term in your partnership/rental agreements? 94% 3% 2% 1% 1 season, session, or year Other 3 seasons, sessions, or years 2 seasons, sessions, or years We don’t currently specify a contract term; As long as it is going well and people are signing up Other: What are the most common reasons you have ended relationships with partners? 60% 68% 25% 51% 12% Did not make sense financially Did not meet expectations Built in-house capacity Decided to no longer offer that program/workshop Other Lack of customer demand for service/program; One program/relationship which has been in place for 35+ years; School usage priority; Staff that don’t meet our standards Other: Rate each potential value of Partnerships to your school (1 is least valuable...5 is extremely valuable) Revenue Enhanced program offerings Increased community outreach Improved quality of staff Increased enrollment 3.15 3.73 4.03 2.83 2.28
Notable Comments
During the summer, we rent classrooms to a local early childhood-play organization, generating income. They run their own summer programming here at our school. We also share information on our school with families participating in that program, generating interest in enrolling in our school.”
We partner with a non-profit organization that is engaged in the broader community and runs year-round programs that support our city. The mission of this organization aligns with ours and allows us to extend our community outreach during the summer.”
Our most valuable partnership is a local lacrosse organization that uses our athletics fields year round for practices and leagues. This is valuable because of the revenue and the fact that it brings our target audience (young girls) to our campus nearly every day.”
We have a church rent a number of spaces on our campus for a year-long contract. They have a space to worship and we bring in substantial rental income on Sunday mornings, which are usually pretty quiet.”
We partner with a publisher. Together we host a camp expo on the campus. In return, we get exposure and advertising.”
Our chess partnership is our most valuable. We have 3 excellent coaches who help us run tournaments and take players to the nationals. This allows us to run a robust and well known program for all of our students. We have also had several current students apply because of out chess program.”
We work with local program vendors to test-market a new activity or program area off-site, prior to having to make the capital commitment to offer in-house at a later date. This mitigates our risk associated with launching new offerings.”
We have an arrangement with a theatre group and it is most valuable because none of our arts staff is interested in working after school or in the summer and this is the type of offering that is important to have in the mix.”
Our fencing partnership was new last year and part of our summer camp. The program sold out and had a waiting list. We are using the summer camp as a beta test to decide whether or not we could add this sport to our school year athletic program.”
We have a strong partnership with a local soccer organization that enhances our after school enrichment programs, summer camp offerings and is our largest facilities renter.”
IN ASSOCIATION WITH For more information, visit AUXS.org 7
About Auxiliary Services Organization
The Auxiliary Services Organization (AUXS) was founded to support independent private schools, colleges and universities. Our mission is to help the institutions we serve in this changing environment with expert knowledge and proficiency. AUXS
Advisors have extensive experience working with and for schools. Our team of advisors is made up of individuals from the business sector, entrepreneurs as well as school administrators.
About SPARC
SPARC is the premier national conference serving the professional development needs of independent school summer and auxiliary program leaders. Through two and half days of collaborative workshops, keynotes, panels, and discussions, attendees will develop ideas and strategies to implement in their own communities. Our program is designed for professionals with all levels of experience, from those just beginning in their role to others with years of experience.
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